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Jun. 22nd, 2012 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sherryillkWait a minute, is it okay to say "Oriental" in the UK?
That word has been associated with such negative connotations and has been part of my banned list of words for so long that reading it in a H/D fic was rather jarring.
I personally wouldn't want to be called Oriental. Ever. Or that my family is from the Orient. Ever. (What does that even mean?) Or anything even remotely close to that. But then again, I'm an American and I've found Americans to be more sensitive to these sort of topics. I don't necessarily find that a bad thing since I've always thought it was better to be polite rather than offensive but I know it bugs a lot of other people to have to take the time to change their behavior when they themselves don't think they're doing anything wrong. But I try since I know I would want others try to do the same for me, even if not all of them care.
But it's interesting. It's a bit like the word "quim" from a month back. Americans don't seem to find it offensive (probably because they have no idea what it means) so it gets no reactions from being uttered in a big summer blockbuster movie but would elicit gasps from a British audience. Still, it's rather dissimilar considering the fact that if you explained what "quim" meant to an American, I think most would say it was a bad word. I'm not so sure you would get the same reaction from "Oriental." Maybe, if you explained the history and the connotations the words have, you might get some understanding but from my experience, it's hard to understand and care about something that doesn't deal with you personally.
It's like when I was in high school and this one girl asked not to be called "Hispanic" rather to be known as "Latina." I'm not Hispanic or Latina, I have don't really understand the difference between the two terms other than "Latina/o" seems to be more preferable. It's partly why I've dropped the word "Hispanic" from my vocabulary since then because like I said earlier, it's better to be polite. If one person expressed the opinion that "Hispanic" was an incorrect term, then I doubt they're the only ones. And of course, I've met Latino people who don't care. Just as I'm sure there are Asian people who could care less about the word "Oriental."
So at what point do I make a big deal out of it? Do I tell people not to call me "Oriental"? Surprisingly, it still happens. Mostly with people who are of a certain age, and generally not from a typically liberal state -- the South, Midwest, those sort of places... Do I let it slide even though it does bother me? It's not like it's "chink" after all. Am I being too sensitive? Not sensitive enough? Am I failing my race if I don't think it's all that bad or are my feelings of uneasiness wrong because I'm simply been told to be more and more PC?
I wonder about these kind of things... I wish there was someone out there who can tell me how to be a good Asian. Or a good Asian American. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not just absolutely failing at it.
That word has been associated with such negative connotations and has been part of my banned list of words for so long that reading it in a H/D fic was rather jarring.
I personally wouldn't want to be called Oriental. Ever. Or that my family is from the Orient. Ever. (What does that even mean?) Or anything even remotely close to that. But then again, I'm an American and I've found Americans to be more sensitive to these sort of topics. I don't necessarily find that a bad thing since I've always thought it was better to be polite rather than offensive but I know it bugs a lot of other people to have to take the time to change their behavior when they themselves don't think they're doing anything wrong. But I try since I know I would want others try to do the same for me, even if not all of them care.
But it's interesting. It's a bit like the word "quim" from a month back. Americans don't seem to find it offensive (probably because they have no idea what it means) so it gets no reactions from being uttered in a big summer blockbuster movie but would elicit gasps from a British audience. Still, it's rather dissimilar considering the fact that if you explained what "quim" meant to an American, I think most would say it was a bad word. I'm not so sure you would get the same reaction from "Oriental." Maybe, if you explained the history and the connotations the words have, you might get some understanding but from my experience, it's hard to understand and care about something that doesn't deal with you personally.
It's like when I was in high school and this one girl asked not to be called "Hispanic" rather to be known as "Latina." I'm not Hispanic or Latina, I have don't really understand the difference between the two terms other than "Latina/o" seems to be more preferable. It's partly why I've dropped the word "Hispanic" from my vocabulary since then because like I said earlier, it's better to be polite. If one person expressed the opinion that "Hispanic" was an incorrect term, then I doubt they're the only ones. And of course, I've met Latino people who don't care. Just as I'm sure there are Asian people who could care less about the word "Oriental."
So at what point do I make a big deal out of it? Do I tell people not to call me "Oriental"? Surprisingly, it still happens. Mostly with people who are of a certain age, and generally not from a typically liberal state -- the South, Midwest, those sort of places... Do I let it slide even though it does bother me? It's not like it's "chink" after all. Am I being too sensitive? Not sensitive enough? Am I failing my race if I don't think it's all that bad or are my feelings of uneasiness wrong because I'm simply been told to be more and more PC?
I wonder about these kind of things... I wish there was someone out there who can tell me how to be a good Asian. Or a good Asian American. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not just absolutely failing at it.
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on 2012-06-23 07:16 pm (UTC)A middle-aged lady in my Canadian Jewish history class 2 years ago was talking about why she decided to take the course during the first class and said she lived in Alberta while growing up and didn't meet a lot of diversity, including 'Oriental people.' And she looked to be about 40. My eyes almost popped out of my head while my prof said "I think most prefer Asian now." Didn't help that I was one of two Asian people in my class and nobody batted an eye.
no subject
on 2012-06-24 08:47 am (UTC)